TAMPA, Fla. — Tennessee waited 18 years for this opportunity. And coach Bruce Pearl was dressed for the occasion.
He donned the orange sports jacket that he wears as a tribute to UT coaching legend Ray Mears. That’s the same blazer he usually reserves for rivals like Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
But winning Sunday was every bit as important as beating rivals.
UT was on the verge of winning its first SEC men’s basketball tournament in 30 years. It hadn’t even played for a tournament championship since 1991.
No wonder, it was impatient.
Pearl referred to “impatience” over and over in his analysis of a game and a championship that slipped away in the final seconds.
“Mississippi State controlled the tempo, which has a way of forcing tremendous impatience on an opponent,” Pearl said after the 64-61 defeat at the St. Pete Times Forum on Sunday afternoon. “I just couldn’t get that turned around.
“We rushed. We took a lot of bad shots, and struggled offensively.”
The struggle was glaringly evident on the stat sheet: 69 shots attempted, 20 made, 29.0 percent.
Never mind the Vols’ superior rebounding or their staunch defense. They couldn’t overcome their worst shooting of the season.
They couldn’t shake their image, either. Just when an up-and-down season had taken its most decided upward turn, the Vols faltered.
Losing on a neutral court to Mississippi State is hardly shameful. But the Bulldogs were playing their fourth game in as many days while UT drew a first-round tournament bye.
While the fatigue factor favored the Vols, you couldn’t underestimate the power of motivation.
The Vols were playing for their first SEC tournament championship in three decades years as well as for higher seeding in the NCAA tournament. The Bulldogs were playing for their NCAA tournament life.
And that in-or-out motivation showed down the stretch when the Bulldogs extended themselves just enough to win the tournament and the automatic NCAA tournament bid that goes with it.
“About the 6:50 mark, when we lost that lead, I remember looking in those five starters’ eyes,” Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury said. “There was a look that ‘We were gonna find a way; we’ve come too far to give up now.’ ”
From the outset, the game was more about effort than aesthetics. The sloppy play contrasted sharply with how well the teams played in qualifying for the championship game.
In fact, the buzz at press row was that UT was playing up to the high expectations envisioned for it in preseason. But with a tournament championship on the line, UT better resembled the team that struggled to sustain a high level of success during the regular season.
Pearl didn’t fault his team’s effort. Instead, he indicated it tried too hard.
“We forced a lot of things,” he said. “You want it so bad that you revert back to trying to do too much. Tyler (Smith) tried to do too much. Wayne (Chism) tried to do too much. J. P. (Prince) tried to do too much.”
Now, UT’s challenge is to execute another about-face, as it has done repeatedly – sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worst. The NCAA challenge is daunting. As a ninth seed, it will face eight-seeded Oklahoma State in the first round; a victory likely would put it against No. 1 seed Pittsburgh in the second round.
But the Vols have looked down and out before — most notably, a month ago in an embarrassing 19-point loss to Kentucky. They rebounded to win three consecutive games against Mississippi State, Florida and South Carolina.
If they can bounce back again in the NCAA tournament, Sunday’s last-second loss at a tournament championship might not be as painful.
“If not, this missed opportunity will hurt for a long time,” Pearl said.
Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com.
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Comments » 52
TommyJack writes:
No way I would bet on the outcome of the OK St. game...no way.
KILLERxMOOSE writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
CLKVOL writes:
Tough loss but we are NCAA tourney bound for the fourth consecutive year under Coach Pearl..more than Florida can say.
speaking of which, here is the Gators NIT berth trophy presented after the NIT selection show.. enjoy Gatorz2
http://www.trophies2go.com/images/pro...
elizabethtonvol72 writes:
Funny link!! I don't care who you are, thats funny right there!! LOL, Go Vols!!!
peerless1 writes:
This team has got to find some heart, dig deep down and WANT it-and play like it-they have the talent to do it-but they have GOT to focus-at times this season they have played great defense-they seem to think they know theyre as talented as anybody and can turn it on at any time-i dunno- I doubt THIS team will get past OSU or PITT but i hope so-there are no freshmen now-they're sophs now mentally-next year they've got to bring it every game and we can be really great. GO VOLS!!!
kbart4033#247331 writes:
Suggest name change: T.O. Prince.
He had to break the modern
day SEC tourney record for most turnovers/touch. In one
lowlight video stretch Saturday, he had 5 consecutive turnovers on 5 touches. Is there any way we can place
him in the European league next season?
peerless1 writes:
preach on brother, laughable he got cbs's player of the game-he was terrible today-in a close game, he cost us this game-so many mistakes-more than anybody else-he plays more reckless than anybody-tyler really didnt show up tho-sad...i love 'em but dang guys!!! Play to your potential!
miatatom writes:
One word.......FREETHROWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
miatatom writes:
Yeah, I know it's two words, but you get the point. These guys have got to work on foul shots. Maybe Chism can teach them how. Too late for this year.
WeLoveTennesseeVols writes:
That's why you'll always be a loser, tiny Tom!
BIG_ORANGE_BLEEDER writes:
What a bunch of horse poop!! A 9 seed! Are they out out their minds or just to busy licking in between the butt cheeks of the Big East! wake up and at least try to be fair. We beat the only two Big East teams we played by double digits! SEC is not as down as they think. Look at the Hogs, worst team in the West beating two of the top in the Big 12. I am sick to death.
Thanks Coach Pearl, staff, and players for a really good season all things considered! Thanks for all your hard work! Hey Tyler and Chism, Come on back and win it all! Do it for you, your team, and the nations best College! UT Baby! Go Vols
peerless1 writes:
It's all so freakin' political-half the teams in the SEC could beat anybody on any given day-Go SEC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
wyomingvol writes:
This was the poorest opponent Tennessee will play in a SEC Title Game for a long time. We missed a golden opportunity. Terrible play and finishing. At one point, we missed 10 in a row in the second half. FYI, we lost by 3 when we could of been up by 10 and putting it away.
1. We need a good point guard.
2. JP is not a good option at shooting or point, he is a small forward or 6 man at best. Please no more inbound or first options. Very poor play the last two games of the tourney (MVP.... WOW.)
We are one player (point guard) away from being a great team. Once past the first round, any opponent (Pittsburg) will prey heavily on our lack of freethrow shooting, poor outside/jumpshooting touch, and crappy point guards..
OSU/TN is a good match-up. They are almost as streaky as us!
Good season, but we missed a biggie on Sunday.
Sigh,
WYOVOL
sevenmaxims#354995 writes:
Prince had 4 turnovers in the game. He shot 6 of 10. ( 60% ) The rest of the team shot 14 of 59 (23%)
VolInIndy writes:
I don't care what the statistician came up with, he had more than four turnovers.
He has done some nice dishes driving to the lane but from a outside, he throws the ball to the other team or causes another teammate to lose the ball by poor placement or speed. He needs to stay around the basket and score on put-backs.
IMAVOL2 writes:
until pearl and this under-acheiving and stupid (prince) team realizes it is more important to win the sec east (blew it) and the sec championship (blew it) than to secure some @!%%^$&** national image, some of us vol fans will be scratching our collective......... heads
pdhuff#552644 writes:
On a positive note, the doldrums won't seem so bad.
Spring is almost here, robins are everywhere and we're still turning the ball over.
Killians is still available.
Losing to a ratty Ky team earned a 9 seed in the tourney boys eyes.
Couchdummy writes:
I agree, and I am a betting man. This team is impossible to predict.
yabadabadoo1026 writes:
in the grand scheme of things now this is hardly anything to be sick to death over--this ain't life or death stuff
eduardo writes:
Tyler Smith 1 field goal. Lame!!!!!! In a championship game!!!!!!
huntined#565710 writes:
That is a good one!!
john#208876 writes:
Where you watching an old Vol football video by mistake? I think we watched different games. We just need to keep working on taking better care of the ball and better decision making. Take your best shot at the Cowboys, and don't worry about getting screwed in the seedings, remember whoever you beat, you now have their seed. Go Vols, make your own seed!
OrangeMagic writes:
urnotavol,
Don't include me in your collective. Based on current personnel, I would call this an over-achieving team despite yesterday's poor performance.
Thanks Bruce for a pretty good "off" year.
Volumni writes:
How'd he play down the stretch yesterday? Single handedly blew the chance at the end with three turnovers in last two minutes. He had fifteen turnovers for the tournament, including four in a row on Saturday. He always goes for the hero play with his passes. Four assists and 15 turnovers for the tournament should earn him a seat, not praise.
I'm sick of him. Doesn't hustle on defense, rebounds only occasionally, and has no jump shot. The team was coming together well, and just didn't shoot well today, but this sets them back IMO.
Hope we can bounce back.
mtnsvol44 writes:
Yep, they were too undressed. Coach should make them wear long sleeves to cover up all those thuggish looking, sleazy,cheesy,low classed tattoos!!!
dwa7#337691 writes:
I swear PRINCE walks on EVERY drive to the basket.....does anyone else see this?
STNVol09 writes:
Which play hurt more.... the pass Prince attempted to Tyler yesterday with 8 seconds left or Ainge's pass to LSU in the SEC championship game? And Maze was standing right beside him spotted for a three...just like Rogers was open over the middle... hmmmmmmmm.... probably one and done in the big dance this year. GO find a point guard Coach. Thanks for a decent year.
volsfan92 writes:
yup we were rooked on the seeding but we will find a way to beat OK State and Pitt...go right at Blair and get him in foul trouble
volsfan92 writes:
when this team is on its game which includes a lot of yesterday's game they can play anybody...whole lot of weapons there....Tatum (oops I mean Cameron Turner) was GREAT and Bobby M keeps getting better and better....we are ready for this thing, might as well bring on the good teams right away. Go Vols
richvol writes:
Aside from the missed layups and mind-boggling passes to no one,the off balance three point brick that Chism threw up late in the game is the most telling thing about this team. Complete lack of judgement,common sense,basketball IQ and FOCUS when it matters the most are the reasons this team loses ballgames.
If you listen to coach's comments the root cause is clear...there are no consequences suffered by the players for bonehead plays. Coach even states that he can't get them to do things like any well coached team would do. Well,there is one tool that is effective...the bench. He just doesn't use it effectively. There is enough depth on this team to do so and a slightly less gifted player,doing the right thing,is much better than players that won't listen.
As I have pointed out several times in the past you can't let players play any way they want and then expect them to play with great discipline when it's crunch time. Pearl,as much as I respect him,does not seem to appreciate this.
volsfan92 writes:
Here's a direct quote from Bob Knight as he watched the UT-SC game: "When this team (UT) is playing this well and Louisville is playing as well as they can play, it would be a great game to see." Louisville just earned the number one seed in the whole shebang. we are ready.
TommyJack writes:
What brought that on?
rdgshackelford writes:
our mens basketball team needs to stop relying on the three point shot. they clearly can't make them and to see jp prince, smith, chism, and maze go 4-17 from behind the arc is laughable. why prince, who has only made 3 3's all year would decide to toss up as many on thursday is baffleing. i just dont understand why this team finds it necceasry to 'rely" on their ability to nail crucial shots from behind the arc. that is like nate robinson relying on his hight to win games. this team has the peices to do well, they just need to realize that God gave them talent, it just happens to be in other areas than the three point shot.
volsfan92 writes:
good post
volsfan92 writes:
but if Wayne is feeling it then go ahead and shoot
Colliervol writes:
I wouldn't either TJ. Unless you could tell me which UT team is going to show up. The focused, loose running team or the unfocused, undisciplined, leader-less, utterly impatient one. If it's the latter, they won't be there long.
TommyJack writes:
Truthfully, richvol makes valid points. And I'm a Pearl man.
dinovols#278873 writes:
I'm so Tired of prince he is sorry as hell, he waste countless oppertunities for his team, he doesn't hussle, and if you're 6'7 why would you try and lay the ball up everytime you're under the baskets DUNK FOOL!. He is truely a waste of a scholarship...graduate or something be productive else where basketball is not your game JP!!!!!!
Colliervol writes:
Rich, you do make some good points. Bruce is the best thing to happen to this program in 30 years but his one fault is that the team may play too "loose". Great at times but they can look really bad as well. If you make bad plays during the game with no consequences, what does one expect when crunch time comes?
Of course (and I'm going to sound like a broken record), to me it still comes down to lack of a floor leader who can control the flow of the offense.
murrayvol writes:
I use averted vision when that happens.
murrayvol writes:
Surely you've been around this board too long to ask that question.
blitzshoot writes:
We Love, you started making cohesive comments and then you go and call a poster a loser.
No need for that, especially from you. I don't agree with TJ at times, but that's no reason to go the route you did.
Colliervol writes:
wl, excuse me but I can't find a mention of Memphis in this thread so where is that "fixation"? (Maybe someone did but it's minute. I didn't see it.) The only time I see Memphis mentioned is when one of their fans decides to weigh into one of these articles with their irrelevant opinion. And that always generates comment but that's no different than when a Florida or Alabama fan appears on here.
This year with the SEC being down, Memphis might very well have won it. But this year is not the normal SEC when Florida and KY are strong. I know one thing with 100% certainty though. They wouldn't win 20 in a row and you can book that.
And please do not mention CUSA in the same breath as the SEC or any other conference. Until they get ONE other team than Memphis in the NCAA, it is not a discussion worth having. I'll give Memphis (and Coach Cal) credit for their success. They do have good talent every year and Cal has figured out the seeding system. For that, he is to be congratulated.
TommyJack writes:
You tell him, Blitz. :)
Murray: You're right. And don't call me Surely.
Orangeblood13 writes:
lol
Pick on Tommy Day
Volumnus writes:
Over the 4 years here, I have heard CBP say, "Their 5 may be as good or better than our 5 but is there 10 better than our 10?" Yes, on nearly any occasion. MS State substituted us into the floor. ZERO Teamwork!!! BMaze drove and passed to Prince on a perfectly executed "give and go" and Prince got it and went and blew a poor percentage shot. It happened with Tabb, and Tyler as well. The point guard play is only as good as the people and the team around him. He can dish, but if he is dishing to a selfish teammate, then it doesn't matter.
Oh and how do you miss Freethrows??? How does a coach repeatedly allow a team to shoot 3 point shots when they can't buy one??? And how are they missing layups? Allowing that to continue is the coach, but it is more on the players in that the players they have recruited just don't have a strong basketball presence or IQ!
Lack of teamwork and an overly developed sense of "SELF" is what ails this team!
Sad, very sad!
utvol2485 writes:
It's not over yet. I think the Vols can win against Ok State and then give Pitt a run for their money. Either way, I'm proud of the team for showing some character late in the season, minus the Alabama game.
They should have been better this season and we all know that, but lets keep things in perspective. Bruce is a good coach, we'll have a lot of veterans returning next year, and we've got some new talent coming in as well.
Oh, just remember how bad things were under some of the previous regimes...Wade Houston, Kevin O'Neil, and Buzz Peterson.
Colliervol writes:
Last paragraph is dead on. I remember those days. Well, most of 'em anyway. I've tried to block out as many of those memories as I could. If I dream about Buzz as coach, I wake up in a cold sweat and screaming.
volcycle writes:
Pass the ball to the open guy. Play as a team quit playing the 1 against 3 junk. How many times did the pass go to Smith, Chism, Prince, or whoever and the play was for them to make a move on someone to score? The result to often was Varnado or some other player smackin' their shot into the third row.
The word is out, play zone against UT and you win because they like to try to attack the zone with one guy taking on the zone. Pass the ball!!
richvol writes:
He is the best thing to happen to Tennessee since Coach Mears but he HAS TO get control of this team. Remember the story about the farmer with the 2x4 and his mule?
We have played against several point guards this year that would have made our team so much better if they were Vols. Maybe we can find one.
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